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Jukre Star Sailors
The Jukre Star Sailors, often known only as the Jukre, are a Kotala Force tradition. Oppressed for years by the Dark Jedi of the Isen Star Empire, very few Jukre openly follow their religion, even in the far more welcoming environment of the Jade Empire. Jukre religious practices include long, sometimes convoluted voyages of exploration and pilgrimage through uninhabited portions of the Cyron system. Since first contact with the conquering ISE in 6 ABY, these voyages travel across far greater distances. A few Jukre have joined the Patriots, but the majority avoid it, for two reasons: the inclusion of Darksiders, including Matthe'i Salphoris, who oppressed the Jukre on Shun's orders; and the Patriots' military leanings. The Jukre are pacifistic, concerned mainly with exploration and service. A devout Jukre Sailor will not touch a weapon. Their ships, solar sailers using propulsion technology similar to that of the Gree Enclave, are unarmed, and a devout Jukre will not travel on a military starship if it can be avoided. Jukre Force techniques and religious rituals are one and the same, and very sacred to them. They seek insight from the Music, for example, to seek out routes for their travels, or places where they are needed. They refer to the Dark Side, or any violent use of the Force as 'Dissonance'. They are known to study a volume known as The Symboliads of Jukreshna; as of 17 ABY, Hagron-tides-of-green was translating it into Basic. He was also once heard to call Simma Cobaul by the name or title 'Jukreshna Sai', though it is doubtful he was equating the half-legendary witch with his people's deity/ideal/force of nature. The meaning of the term is debatable. In the same exchange, Cobaul referred to Hagron and his fellow Jukre as her assistants or associates. Again, her meaning is unclear. Abilities The Jukre do not view the Force as something to be used. They draw no distinction between acts of worship and what Jedi or Sith would call 'Force powers.' As a result, it is very difficult for a Force-user to learn the Jukre way. Apart from certain principles dispensed here and there, Ashin Varanin is perhaps the only living humanoid to have studied the Jukre way in any depth. Although some Jukre, both devout and Descant, belong to the Patriots, their techniques have proven difficult to adopt. The Jukre possess great powers of instinct, which guide them throughout their pilgrimages. This is similar to the instinctive navigation of the Duinuogwuin. A powerful Jukre can use a degree of telekinetic shielding not unlike a Jedi protection bubble, but somewhat softer so as to avoid injuring one's attacker. This is far more difficult for a Jukre than for a 'classical' Force-user, as shown by Hagron, one of the most powerful Jukre Star Sailors alive. He was unable or, perhaps, unwilling to use it to defend himself against certain death at the hands of young Andu-walks-with-dragons, a Dissonant. However, with effort he used it to shield himself from a wave of Mnggal-Mnggal on Mugg Fallow. Varieties of Crucitorn are not uncommon in light of decades of persecution. These have little ritual significance and are easily learned by 'classical' Forcers such as Fadin Kurn and many other Patriots. The ultimate Jukre technique is called, simply, tuning or harmonizing, and is compared by Hagron-tides-of-green to conducting an orchestra, along with various other musical metaphors. This involves several steps. *The Jukre adept learns to perceive the innate harmonies of the universe, including the movements of planets, the actions of individuals, and the tendency towards various potential futures. *The adept perceives discord - a debatable term, in part because it is either relative or absolute. *The adept selects, by instinct, a proper location, compared to the holes in a flute. This step is not absolutely crucial, but improves the final result. At the Battle of Mon Calamari, Ashin Varanin selected the location for the Sith'ari Centrality's flagship based on this principle. *The adept selects a half-metaphorical, half-real 'note' deep in the fabric of the universe, and begins a droning hum which matches the note, transposed up by many octaves. This is designed to bring the adept's mind into greater alignment with the true Note which needs to be emphasized in order to correct the harmony. Because of the peculiarities of the Kotala physique, this hum can persist for many hours. However, a humanoid can learn to achieve the same effect with merely humanoid biology. *The situation harmonizes. Ashin Varanin once remarked that she had to be careful while using this power during the Battle of Mon Calamari, as Sivter's prophesied dissolution of every order would be - in its own way - an internally consistent and harmonic outcome. Hagron-tides-of-green spent several years on Trevel'ka, harmonizing constantly at instinctively located points, in order to reduce the truly staggering amount of despair and rage endemic to a planet-wide slum. *It should be noted that a skilled user of Battle Meditation, such as Kalja Sairu Leidias, can weave Jukre tuning into his or her efforts. It has also been discovered that Jukre tuning can bring perception into line with reality, and thus disrupt or destroy Dark Side illusions, or even the more powerful illusions of the White Current and Sith Magic. Similar principles can be applied to the souls of individuals or groups; specifically, this is known as Awake My Soul. Splinter groups In recent decades, some Jukre went against their religion's precepts and participated in rebellion against Isen. A few, known as Descant Sailors, resurrected forbidden teachings and learned to use the Force as a defensive weapon, coming dangerously close to Dissonance. Descant techniques allowed the user to induce unconsciousness or Flashburn - even against a Force-using foe. Some could also use versions of Malacia. Ashin Varanin was taught the Jukre way by Hagron-tides-of-green and later included it in the Sorkatar Holocron. However, as of 18 ABY she had searched in vain for a student who could learn it properly; even Velok had been unable. Kalja Sairu Leidias interacted closely with Jukre tuning for several hours and learned something of the Jukre philosophy from Ashin; it is possible that she could duplicate the technique at some level. Similarities with the White Current Ember Rekali, one of the very few people who has any experience with both obscure paths, has made a systematic comparison between the traditions of the Fallanassi and the Jukre. *The Fallanassi are more concerned with the actual currents, tides and eddies of Force energy than with using it. The Jukre are usually concerned with the 'strings' or 'sound-waves' of energy connecting worlds, destinies and civilizations, though that is a poor approximation. They have been known to use current as an analogy, though it does not appear in the Symboliads. Like the Fallanassi, then, they are more concerned with the dynamics of the deeper levels of the Force than with using them. *The Fallanassi focus predominantly on the mind, with some focus on the spirit and the body. Manipulations such as telekinesis and lightning generation are wholly foreign to them. The Jukre focus on the spirit, with some emphasis on the mind. Their treatment of the body is purely tangential, though the Descant version of Malacia would seem to indicate that their knowledge of it is sound and of a high order. Their limited use of telekinesis is also, it would seem, tangential and rare. Energy manipulation is apparently beyond them or outside their purview. *The Fallanassi illusionists can, it seems, convince the universe that a given object is real, as proven by experiments with remote sensor operators. (Droids, however, remain unmoved.) The Jukre ponder the universe as they sense it should be, and bring the universe into alignment with their vision. This could also, in a very limited sense, be compared to the Nightsister technique Heartshadow, which allows for the selection of possible futures. However, the Jukre can also reconcile what appears to what truly is, allowing for the dispersal of illusions. The technique is similar but the ideology is exactly opposite. *The Fallanassi are isolationist pacifists, and their teachings can only be internalized if one is at peace. The Jukre are even more devout pacifists, and they place a high priority on 'harmonizing oneself' and on, when necessary, retreating from 'the world' for the lessons of solitude. Nevertheless, they are far more interventionist than the Fallanassi in their subtle way. *The Fallanassi possess the strange ability of 'current-scribing', which Rekali has compared to writing secret messages in the fabric of the universe - a remarkably Jukre sentiment.